ULTRA-SONIC CLEANING

Good oral hygiene is important, not only for looks, but for general health as well. Poor oral hygiene can lead to a variety of dental and medical problems such as gum disease, infection, bone loss, heart disease, strokes and more. Regular check up and cleaning can prevent these problems as well as provide you with good oral hygiene. Your dentist will help to ensure that you are maintaining your good oral health by visual examination and comparing your previous dental check up. If you are falling off track with your oral hygiene, he/she will help to put you back on the right path.

Dental cleanings involve removing plaque (soft, sticky, bacteria infested film) and tartar (calculus) deposits that have built up on the teeth over time. Your teeth are continually bathed in saliva which contains calcium and other substances which help strengthen and protect the teeth. While this is a good thing, it also means that we tend to get a build-up of calcium deposits on the teeth. This chalky substance will eventually build up over time. Usually it is tooth colored and can easily be mistaken as part of the teeth, but it also can vary from brown to black in color. The purpose of the cleaning and polishing is basically to leave the surfaces of the teeth clean and smooth so that bacteria are unable to stick to them and you have a better chance of keeping the teeth clean during your regular home care. The professional cleaning of teeth is sometimes referred to as prophylaxis (short for prophy).

Once all the surfaces are smooth, the dental professional may polish your teeth. Polishing is done using a slow speed handpiece with a soft rubber cup that spins on the end. Prophylaxis (short for prophy) paste – a special gritty toothpaste-like material – is scooped up like ice cream into the cup and spun around on the teeth to make them shiny smooth.